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Q&A: MARCUS SCOTT, HYPERDUB
The Hyperdub label was founded in 2004 by producer Steve Goodman, aka Kode9, its first release a single by Goodman himself. In 2005, the label released the debut EP by Burial, introducing the new enterprise to a bigger audience. Highly influential in the development of dubstep, Hyperdub subsequently worked on early releases with a number of influential producers in the genre, and has branched out further into electronic music too more>>

APPROVED: HOLLY HERNDON
Once a member of electro duo Electrocute, in recent years Holly Herdon has moved towards a more academic approach to music, earning a masters degree in Electronic Music & Recording Media. And this year she began a five year doctorate study of musical composition. Solo material from Herndon in that time has been sparse but intriguing - her award-winning vocal piece '195' and art installation 'Car' both show her ability to experiment while still being accessible more>>

YOUR ARMY - ONLINE PR OFFICER
Your Army Promotions are looking for a dynamic new publicist. The ideal candidate will be knowledgeable about electronic music and be passionate about online media - regularly reading online music sites and seeking out the best new blogs. Social media strategy is a bonus.

For more information including a full job description and how to apply click here.

DANCE MUSIC ENTHUSIAST
Driven 'Big Room'/commercial dance music enthusiast with a desire to work in the music industry required. Exciting opportunity to work at a leading music promotions company. Full time, three month temporary contract with potential for permanent role. Must be extremely organised and target driven.

For more information including a full job description and how to apply click here.

RESIDENT ADVISOR - C# .NET DEVELOPER
RA is currently seeking a brilliant London-based developer. This full-time position is based in Shoreditch, East London. This position offers a fantastic opportunity for growth. We aren’t looking for someone to come in every day, sit in the corner and write endless reams of code. We want you to be involved in the day-to-day activities of the company in order to offer the best solutions and improvements to help ensure Resident Advisor remains one step ahead of the game.

For more information including a full job description and how to apply click here.

GROOVESHARK TO LAUNCH MONETISED ARTIST PROFILES
Controversial streaming music service Grooveshark - which lets users upload content to its libraries - has a pretty major upgrade incoming at the start of next month, which will add some drag-and-drop functionality, better playlisting options, and some sharing and recommendation tools, but, probably most importantly, also introduce artist-managed profiles.

That will allow artists to set up their own profile on the Grooveshark platform, adding and removing tracks, communicating with fans, posting blogs and such like. While basically offering the same artist profile functionality as MySpace, Facebook et al, the USP on Grooveshark will be that users will be encouraged to make donations to artists they like via the Flattr micro-payment system. Users can put a set some of money into their Flattr account, and then tag which artists they would like to share that cash with.

It will be interesting to see whether any artists embrace that new element of Grooveshark. The introduction of the monetised artist profiles is presumably part of the controversial digital firm's bid to present itself as a champion of artists, despite its various legal disputes with the big band major music companies.

Though, as previously noted, plenty of artists have also been vocal in their opposition to the streaming service, which some accuse of exploiting a loophole in the American copyright system to build a business around unlicensed content, while avoiding liability for copyright infringement by operating a deliberately shoddy takedown system, that assures legal impunity at the same time as being able to offer a large catalogue of major label/artist content without permission.

All the majors are currently involved in litigation against the digital company, mainly over the allegation that Grooveshark staffers also upload unlicensed music to the service as well as the firm's users. If proven, that would stop the company using the safe harbour protection of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Meanwhile the record industry is thought to be quietly lobbying American lawmakers to write into law minimum standards for takedown systems without which DMCA protection would not apply.

Artists signed to major music companies will likely be discouraged from setting up profiles on Grooveshark, or at least banned from posting tracks to the platform (the actual music generally be owned and/or controlled by the label/publisher rather than the artist, of course). And if music by signed artists was posted to the profile, it would create issues around who should receive any monies generated via the Flattr service.

Of course for self-releasing artists that's not a problem, and a Grooveshark artist profile may be attractive for unsigned bands looking for any possible revenue stream. Though for Grooveshark itself, most of those acts will not be adding content that is of major value to the digital firm's wider audience via its streaming platform.

The alliance with Flattr is interesting too. That is a service co-created by Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde, which probably won't go down well with the big music companies either. Especially given the ambiguities around Sunde's stake in the business, which lawyers for the music and movie industries are interested in given his liability for the $7 million (plus interest) in damages he and his fellow Bay founders were ordered to pay when they where found guilty of copyright infringement in Sweden, but which all four TPB defendants have so far said they are too broke to pay.

All of which means the reaction of labels and artists to the all new Grooveshark will be very interesting.

PIRATE BAY MOVES "HOSTING TO THE CLOUD" TO MAKE SERVICE RAID PROOF
The Pirate Bay has shifted its operations so that it is "hosted in the cloud", which basically means its data and code is shared on servers across the world (sometimes without the knowledge of the owners of said servers), making it impossible for the authorities in any one jurisdiction to seize the controversial file-sharing site's machines and take it offline. The move should also make the service faster, cheaper to run, and less liable to downtime.

Swedish authorities first seized the servers of The Pirate Bay in 2006, though the file-sharing service's operators got it back online within 24 hours via servers hosted elsewhere. Since the 2009 court case in Sweden in which the site's three founders and key funder were found liable for copyright infringement, and the subsequent unsuccessful appeal in 2010, many have expected a second raid, even though there has been conflicting information regards exactly where the site is hosted.

The latest move by TPB's current operators would make such a raid all but impossible, because any one attempt to take the site offline would only hit one element of the operation, which could be compensated for by another. A couple of key functions, in essence gluing the service together and hiding the location of the cloud servers, will remain on two servers actually owned by the Bay, though operators say those functions could quickly be replicated on alternative servers in the case of any raid.

A spokesman for the Bay told TorrentFreak: "Moving to the cloud lets TPB move from country to country, crossing borders seamlessly without downtime. All the servers don't even have to be hosted with the same provider, or even on the same continent. If one cloud provider cuts us off, goes offline or goes bankrupt, we can just buy new virtual servers from the next provider".

So, that's fun. The content industries, of course, have most recently been busy trying to persuade ISPs around the world - directly or via litigation or legislation - to block access to The Pirate Bay to their customers, though serial file-sharers will always be able to circumvent any such blocks.

BLACK EYED PEAS COMPANY SUED BY UBISOFT
The Black Eyed Peas have been sued for a million dollars by gaming company Ubisoft, seemingly for failing to provide feedback on a new version of a game featuring the group.

Ubisoft says it has spent nearly quarter of a million dollars developing an iPad and iPhone version of 'The Black Eyed Peas Experience' game, which is already available for Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360, as part of its deal with the group's company BEP Music. But, says Ubisoft, it hasn't had any response from the pop act since providing a prototype in March, despite BEP Music being contractually obliged to provide such feedback in a timely manner.

According to reports, the gaming firm's lawsuit says: "Since March 2012, and despite Ubisoft's repeated requests, BEP Music has breached the contract by failing and refusing to either approve or disapprove the iOS game in writing or otherwise".

They should have grabbed Will.i.am while he was running with the Olympic torch earlier this summer and got him to feedback there and then. Neither BEP Music nor the band have as yet commented on the legal action.

FLAVOR FLAV ARRESTED OVER DOMESTIC ALTERCATION
Public Enemy's Flavor Flav was arrested in Las Vegas yesterday after an allegedly violent argument at his home in the city. According to TMZ, the rapper's fiancé Liz Trujillo called police after having a run in with Flav, real name William Drayton Jr.

He was subsequently taken into custody amidst allegations he had threatened one person with a knife and beaten another. He has now been charged with one count of felony assault with a deadly weapon and one count of misdemeanour domestic violence.

GRIMES CANCELS SHOWS DUE TO HEARING PROBLEMS
Grimes' Claire Boucher has called off a trio of live shows in her native Canada this month, blaming tinnitus and loss of hearing.

Boucher - who despite her aural ills apparently kept a date at Vancouver's Commodore last night, and is still billed to begin her North American tour in Minneapolis on 22 Oct - confirmed the cancellations via Twitter on Tuesday. "Hey guys, so sorry for the cancelled shows. I'm having trouble with hearing loss, tinnitus and am trying to stay away from loud music for a bit", she tweeted, adding: "Am still planning to finish the tour and will try to get back to Canada asap".

The above updates probably won't impact Grimes' English fans - aka the ones going to her single GB stopover at Bristol's Motion on 13 Nov - though it should remind everyone that tinnitus can affect us all. With that in mind, you might like to read Xfm DJ Eddy Temple-Morris's recent CMU column on the topic, in which he also launched a new campaign to create a compilation featuring tracks from artists who suffer from tinnitus. Proceeds from the record will go to the British Tinnitus Association in order to help to provide support for sufferers and conduct research into possible cures.

ROBBIE'S FUTURE WITH TAKE THAT UNCERTAIN
Take That will reconvene next year to record a new album, but it's not yet certain if Robbie Williams will be joining in again, Gary Barlow has said.

Speaking while on a visit to the BRIT School, reports BBC Newsbeat, Barlow said that the decision about whether Robbie (or seemingly any other members of the band) would be joining in was yet to be made: "We haven't made any [firm] plans. I think this is the great thing about the band these days. We're still yet to meet, all five of us, so we'll decide then".

Asked if his recently announced solo tour was a sign that Take That is beginning to be wound up again, he said: "Definitely not. I guess in a way it's my last bit of freedom actually, because once I commit to Take That again, it's an eighteen month, two year thing. So I'm sort of celebrating my last few months of freedom".

BMG SIGNS US SONGWRITER/PRODUCER DARRELL BROWN
BMG's Nashville division has signed songwriter and producer Darrell Brown, who has worked with the likes of Keith Urban, Neil Young, Bon Jovi, Faith Hill and Rodney Foster, won numerous awards, and generated 70 million sales with his songs and productions.

Confirming the deal, BMG Nashville's Executive Vice President told CMU: "Darrell is an incredibly gifted songwriter and producer. He brings great depth and energy to our roster in every genre, and is the type of writer that is never satisfied with what is happening in the moment, but always reaching forward. It's an honour for our team to work with him".

FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS ANNOUNCE ALBUM, TOUR
Frankie & The Heartstrings are back. The band yesterday released 'I Still Follow You', the first track from their still in production new album, which they are currently recording with Bernard Butler.

Hoping to have the new album completed for release early next year, frontman Frankie Francis said: "We're raring to go with this new record, it's been a long year, and staying off the road so we can write and record a great album has been tough for us at times, but we've put everything we have into it and can't wait to unleash it".

They couldn't keep themselves off the road quite long enough to finish it completely though. The band are taking a break from recording for a brief UK tour, including dates supporting The Cribs, kicking things off with a headline show at London's 100 Club last night.

Stream and download 'I Still Follow You' here, and then check out the tour dates below.

R KELLY'S TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET TO RETURN NEXT MONTH
Earlier this year, R Kelly sent out a plea to investors to help him make a third series of his 'Trapped In The Closest' 'soap hip hopera'. And by jove it seems someone came forward, because Kelly says that the next series is due to begin airing on 24 Nov.

Speaking to Time, Kelly said: "We just shot 20 chapters. They'll be coming out the day after Thanksgiving. 'Trapped In The Closet' is forever. I've got like a hundred chapters to come".

Comprising six tracks, two of which ('Manners' and 'Sun Goes Down') you may have heard as part of last year's pre-Warner 'Nights Like This' EP, it also features the relatively new 'Ready For The Weekend', 'Good For You' and 'Top Rated', plus Charli XCX collaboration 'I Love It'.

PANTHA DU PRINCE DETAILS NEW BELL LABORATORY COLLABORATION
Via a project that began last year, German electronic artist Pantha Du Prince - real name Hendrik Weber - has made a collaborative LP with Norwegian musicians' collective the Bell Laboratory.

'Elements Of Light', as it's been titled, is a continuous composition in five parts, each named after an 'element of light'. Arranged and conducted by Lars Petter Hagan, it features an array of classical, synthesized and percussive instruments, not least a three-ton bronze bell carillon.

THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE NAME DEBUT LP
Psych types The History Of Apple Pie have set their sights on a debut long player entitled 'Out Of View'. Produced by the band's own guitarist Jerome Watson, it also features engineering credits and guitar sounds by Joshua Third of The Horrors.

London label Marshall Teller isn't releasing the LP for a good while, 28 Jan 2013 to be exact, but you can stay vaguely amused till then by viewing an 'Out Of View' trailer, or perhaps by dreaming of THOAP tours to come...

Tracklisting:

Tug
See You
Mallory
The Warrior
Glitch
You're So Cool
I Want More
Do It Wrong
Long Way To Go
Before You Reach The End

BEYONCE TO RUN SUPER BOWL HALF TIME
Playing it safe (and, compared to certain past years, contemporary) for once, Super Bowl coordinators have booked Beyonce to headline the American football mega-championship's half time concert in 2013.

I'd like to say at this point that I wish they'd done it sooner, thus circumventing 'magic' Super Bowl moments like this, and - most magical of all - this, but they didn't so... never mind.

BUDO GRAPE ANNOUNCE UK TOUR DATES
Japanese new wavers Budo Grape will be over in the UK for a tour next week and I think you should go and see them. Come on, they're travelling a long way. And they're very good too.

The band released their sixth album, 'Kare No Namae Wo Omoidasenai', earlier this year, and ahead of their trip to the UK to promote it, guitarist Nagai told It Came From Japan: "It's our dream to play in the UK, because I've loved British rock music since I was a child, like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who. And after that the new wave movement, punk movement, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Smiths. A gig in the UK is our dream. So dreams come true".

So, there you go, it's decided. We all have to go. Here are the dates:

KYLIE HOPING TO PERFORM AT HIT FACTORY LIVE
Prior to its last minute cancellation, the centrepiece of the Hit Factory Live festival this summer was to be a duet between Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. When the event was revived as a pre-Christmas bash at the O2 Arena earlier this week, there was no mention of such a thing. Could it still be on? Yes, it could. Kylie wants it to happen at least, and where there's a will there's a way (schedule permitting).

Speaking to the Daily Star, Minogue said: "I really felt for people when it was cancelled; it was so touching, the level of excitement. I was like: 'Oh, someone's gone and got a bubble perm and are all ready to go'. We did the rehearsal two days before and Jason and I looked at each other and realised we had never done it live as it was released back in the mime days of 'Top Of The Pops'. We have actually done it live three times in rehearsals but that's it".

She continued: "They've revamped the show and I've said: 'If I'm available, I'll be there'. My schedule to the end of the year is making me cross-eyed - I'm all over the place. [But] if it doesn't happen now, it'll be something to look forward to [at another time]".

UNIVERSAL PROMOTE ROBINSON TO HEAD NEWLY COMBINED SYNC/BRANDS/TELLY UNIT
Universal Music UK has announced the promotion of Marc Robinson to the role of MD for Globe, Creative & Commercial, which will see the major's sync division and its brand partnerships and TV production wing Globe come under one roof. Robinson has led sync at the major for six years, and will see his remit expanded in the new job.

Confirming the appointment, Universal UK chief David Joseph told CMU: "Marc's attributes don't stop at being the most respected and successful synch specialist in music and I am excited about what he can achieve in this new wider role. Sponsorships and media partnerships are both fast-growing areas of our business which will benefit from Marc's creativity and strategic thinking as well as his understanding of how commercial deals can play a role in artist development".

Robinson added: "This is a really exciting new phase for everything we are doing in sync, brand partnerships and production. We have an incredible team in place to offer a one stop shop for brands, agencies and media companies alike, taking what we have learnt over the past few years to deliver great music, effective partnerships and innovative new projects".

The new Globe team will also have two Senior Directors Of Commercial Partnerships in the form of Sarah Desmond, promoted from within the major, and Jennifer Hills, who joins from advertising agency Carat Global.

WARNER MUSIC LOOKS TO RESTRUCTURE DEBTS
Warner Music is refinancing some of the loans used by Access Industries to acquire the major last year, according to a regulatory filing.

According to Billboard, the firm hopes to capitalise on relatively low interest rates in the debt markets just now by buying back some of its existing debt, and then entering into new deals with bondholders, details of which were revealed at that previously reported money lender meeting yesterday. The major has also announced it has arranged a new credit facility with its lenders, moving up from $60 million to $150 million.

The ultimate aim of all this is to reduce the major's overall interest payments, which will help cashflow and such things. Credit Suisse Securities will manage the debt buy back.

LAVE RECORDS RENEWS UNIVERSAL ALLIANCE
Lava Records, the US label originally set up by Jason Flom in partnership with Warner Music, has announced it is renewing its partnership with Universal subsidiary Republic. Flom reclaimed Lava in 2009, after departing Warner Music in 2005 for a brief stint at EMI. It was when the label relaunched under Flom's control that the Republic deal was originally struck.

Confirming that partnership had been renewed, Flom told reporters yesterday: "Republic is the perfect place for Lava to grow and expand. Already, we've solidified the label as a crucial presence in the modern landscape. We're going to continue pushing the envelope together and bringing some great music to the mainstream".

Universal Republic chief Monte Lipman added: "Lava is an incredible partner for us. Jason's commitment to finding and developing talent remains paramount to the label's success. We've always shared passion for breaking new acts, and working together has been immensely rewarding".

NORTH LONDON BUSINESSES ASK TFL TO END ABBEY ROAD CONFUSION
Some local businesses in St Johns Wood, North London which get more than a little trade out of the Beatles fans walking from the local tube station to the near by Abbey Road Studios, and that zebra crossing, are reportedly calling on Transport For London to rename a new East London station, current name Abbey Road.

According to Reuters, St Johns Wood businesses reckon tourists are getting confused when plotting a trip to the legendary studios on a London transport map, and are ending up in completely the wrong part of town, via a newish stretch of the Docklands Light Railway network opened last year to serve the area of East London near the Olympic Park.

It's not clear how many tourists have made the mistake, but the assumption is that a not insignificant number have, and some of those that do will give up rather than trek back across town to the more famous Abbey Road in North London, or might just assume the studio complex no longer exists, have their photo taken on a random pedestrian crossing in East London, and carry on none the wiser.

Zoe Waterman from the St Johns Wood based Beatles Coffee Shop told Reuters: "It was a bigger problem over the summer when everybody was already out in East London and using the DLR for the Olympics, but it's still an issue for us, as numbers are down".

But a spokesman for Transport For London didn't seem to be suggesting there are any plans to change the name of Abbey Road station, telling reporters: "It is unfortunate that some visitors sometimes get confused by the odd duplicate place names in our large and varied city... but this situation is also a reminder that nothing beats some in-depth research".

VAN HALEN DISSES ONE DIRECTION
Wolfgang Van Halen, son of Eddie and bassist in his father's band since 2006, ain't impressed with One Direction, that's for sure. We're not certain exactly what the 1D boys did to the younger Van Halen in a Birmingham hotel lobby this week, but the guitarist - currently in the UK playing with Mark Tremonti - declared the "shitty boyband" members to be "dickheads".

Having had a run in with the boyband stars, Van Halen wrote on Twitter: "Fun fact: Was just insulted by that shitty boy band One Direction in the lobby of our hotel this morning! Greetings Birmingham!", adding: "No joke. That ACTUALLY happened. That group of kids in One Direction were dickheads".

Wrapping up with an observation about the teen group's lovely haircuts, Van Halen Jr concluded: "They must call themselves that because all of their hair points in One Direction".

CMU Editor Andy Malt and CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke are both available to comment on music and music business stories. Together they have provided comment and contributions to BBC News, BBC World, BBC Radios 4, 5, 6music and Scotland, Sky News, CNN, Wired and the Associated Press. Email andy@unlimitedmedia.co.uk or chris@unlimitedmedia.co.uk.

UnLimited Media also provides creative, training and consulting services for the music, media and communication industries. More at www.unlimitedmedia.co.uk.